Press Release Article

PORT AUTHORITY POLICE ACADEMY GRADUATES 61 OFFICERS

Date: Feb 15, 2008Press Release Number: 13-2008

The 109th class of Port Authority Police recruits - 50 men and 11 women - received their badges and will join the ranks of a department that protects travelers and ensures safe commerce at the bistate agency's trade and transportation facilities.

As part of a 25-week regimen, the new police officers underwent three weeks of training emphasizing tactics, the latest antiterrorism techniques and advanced firearms training. In addition, the recruits are trained as certified first responders with expertise in using portable defibrillators and new AutoPulse cardiac support pump apparatus.

Port Authority Director of Public Safety/Superintendent of Police Samuel J. Plumeri said, "No law enforcement agency is more aware of the security challenges faced by modern-day police forces in a post-9/11 world. That's why we are constantly enhancing and updating our training to protect the millions of customers who use Port Authority facilities."

List of graduates is attached.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; the Port Authority-Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.